


Misconceptions Of A Runaway

by BluesOnBlackParade



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Is Gay, F/M, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Ron Speirs is suspicously emotional because i cant write for shit, Running Away, So enjoy this, basically im just choosing some ppl and leaving others, but the Ron & Kitty friendship is precious, except kitty and harry obvs, im a v lazy writer, look theyre all young ok?, none of this is beta'd, the speirton wont happen for a while but the chapters are 1000 words each so dw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-22 02:02:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7414933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluesOnBlackParade/pseuds/BluesOnBlackParade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where Ron runs away from home and meets some new friends while he travels around America just fucking shit up.</p>
<p>Dedicated to Pax and Dana- Thanks for all your awesome stories and hilarious diagrams on the back of napkins and spare paper, I hope you like Speirton.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When The Deal Is Done

**Author's Note:**

> Ah I started this at like 2am and just wrote like 5 chapters so this aint good. Each chapter is like 1000 words and it probably wont take long so yeah.
> 
> This was based on my friends who met each other when they were homeless and began travelling together, who told me all about their weird endeavours, so I'm dedicating this to them.
> 
> I don't know shit about america ok so tell me.

At the age of sixteen, Ronald Speirs knelt on the floor and reached under his bed. The floor was dirty and covered in dust, but that wouldn't stop him in a million years. He pulled out a large black duffle bag, brushed it off quickly and left it by his window.

 

On his desk was a glass jar, full to the brim with money. He reached inside and pulled out the near- thousands of dollars that amount to the cost of his plan. He looked through all of the hideaway spots in his room. The one under his floorboard, taped to the back of his bed, on the underside of his desk. All the places he kept neatly rolled wads of money. He threw them into his duffle and scrambled around his room.

 

_Two minutes, tops._

 

He opened his wardrobe, reached in the back where discarded items lay and pulled out a wooden box. Inside were the remnants of his upbringing, objects of sentiment, and stolen jewellery he didn't dare to tell anyone about. He threw that into the near-full bag and picked it up, swinging it over his shoulder.

 

He leaned over his table, pulled out the expensive stationary he was given for his birthday, and wrote a quick note. He left it on his bed. It read ‘ _Sorry, Mom. Don’t come looking_ ’.

 

He looked around his room quickly, checking if he forgot anything. Checked his pockets for his wallet, phone, passport if needed, lighter and smokes. He didn’t forget anything, he was practical like that. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply in through his nose, and out through his mouth, and let his eyes snap open again.

 

Ron quickly walked out of his room, shutting the door behind him, and stood at the top of the stairs, his bag hanging awkwardly across his body.

 

“Now or never,” he whispered shakily to himself. He was halfway down the stairs when he heard the familiar sound of his father’s keys in the front door. He turned sharply, knowing exactly what to do, and stealthily ran back into his room. 

 

Ron opened the window, begging it not to squeak, which it didn’t, and swung one leg out the window. He willed himself to look down to where he needed to be, and placed his foot on the bracket of the drainpipe by his window. He swung his other foot out the aperture and held onto the sill for dear life as he tried to close the window behind him.

 

He shimmied his way down the drainpipe, into his back yard, where he jumped the fence to his neighbours. Once again, over the fence, and into the street. He ran down the streets, almost laughing, and definitely grinning, until the air burnt in his lungs. He was free. He made his way to the closest bus stop and waited for the first bus that could get him to a Greyhound station.

 

He went there, and bought a ticket to New Jersey. He paid in cash, and ignored the concerned look on the clerks’s face. He simply grabbed the ticket and got on the bus. It was a wait while he leaned his head against the window, watching the sun set over the brick buildings of Boston.

 

The coach was relatively empty and quiet, aside from the hushed conversations of a few people, and Ron wasinfinitely thankful for that. He had a seat at the back where nobody else was sitting. He thought about a lot of things, but nothing much at all. He hardly even dwelt on the fact he was running away from his old life in Boston.

 

Ron got out of his seat at another station and grabbed his bag from the holding compartment under the bus. He had no clue where he was going, but he wasn't scared at all. If anything, he was excited. He wandered into the station and looked at the coach times on the board. The earliest one that would take him the farthest was at nine the next morning, going to Richmond, Virginia.

 

So that was his destination for now.

 

Ron so badly wanted to turn on his phone to research where to go, but he knew if he did, he would be bombarded with texts that he didn't think he’s be able to ignore. So instead, he found the nearest service station, and bought a new SIM card and top-up that would last him a month.

 

On the way back to the Greyhound station, he bought a kebab from a street vendor, indulging in the taste of unhealthy food for just a moment. He remembered the home cooked meals bis mother made, how they were always healthy because his father insisted upon it.

 

At a very young age, Ronald Speirs had decided to disregard order and replace it with a silent chaos that burned inside him. He never spoke out of turn, always listened when he was spoken to, and executed orders near perfectly. It was how he was raised. Yet on the inside, all he wanted to do was scream and rage at everyone.

 

He pushed the thought out of his head. He supposed he had a lifetime to think about it, because he would never go back. Now was his time. He was finally free, and now was the time to unleash the silent chaos that was been fed for so long on petty crime and inner rebellion.

 

He replaced the SIM card with the new once, stashing the old one in his wallet, because he couldn't quite bring himself to throw it away. Ron rebooted his phone and topped up the data on it without much thought. His SIM card had no name to it yet, and he set it to a fake one when he had to.

 

Ronald Speirs eventually fell asleep in that Greyhound station, the strap of his bag still around his body. He leant against the bag, his awkward, lanky body sprawled across the bench he was sitting on.


	2. [Enter Kitty Grogan And Harry Welsh]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron makes some nice, slightly annoying new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have another potato chapter.

Ron was woken up by the alarm he had set the night before. It was almost eight, the clerk at the tickets desk was just set up. He sprayed himself with a noxious deodorant and headed over. He paid in cash and gave a fake name for the ticket once again, and ignored the concerned look once again.

 

He bought another kebab from the street vendor, scoffing it, and headed off the find food he could eat on the bus. Ron made his into the grocery store by the station and found some muesli bars, fruit, and drinks. He was careful not to waste the money burning a hole in his pocket, he knew it could only take him so far.

 

His coach was in the station by the time he was done shopping and changing into a fresh pair of clothes. He boarded the bus and sat in his seat, deciding to keep his bag with him this time.

 

On the bus entered two people, not much older than Ron, giggling as they made their way to the seat in front of him. A happy couple. Ron rolled his eyes as they stopped in front of him.

 

“Hiya,” The girl greeted with a smile. She had light orange hair that curled around her face, covered by a grey hoodie. Oh god, they were going to talk to Ron. Ron can’t talk to people, he doesn’t know _how_ to.

 

“Hey,” Ron mumbled, looking up from his bag where he had retrieved his book.

 

“Hi,” The guy repeated, sitting down and turning in his seat. He had curly hair and a wide, gapped-tooth smile. “Where ya going?”

 

“Virginia, I guess.” Ron replied.

 

“You guess?” The redhead asked, pushing the hood from her head.

 

“Yep,” Ron spoke, opening the book in his calloused hands. “I have no set plans for my future.”

 

“How old are you?” She asked again.

 

“Sixteen,” Ron answered with a level of uncertainty. He had no idea why they were talking to him.

 

“Oh, cool. We’re seventeen,” She chatted. “Oh! I’m Kitty Grogan and this is my soon to be husband, Harry Welsh.”

 

“I’m Ron.” The teen stated simply, giving into the conversation.

 

“Got a last name, Ron?” Harry laughed.

 

“Nope.” Ron popped the ‘p’. “Why are you talking to me?”

 

Harry and Kitty looked mildly embarrassed when Harry answered. “We, uh…. We need new friends. We just kind of ran away from home.”

 

Ron nodded. “Okay, sure. I’ll be your friend.”

 

“Really?” Kitty asked excitedly. Ron fixed her with a glare and looked down at his book.

 

After the bus got to moving, about thirty minutes into the trip, Ron looked up at the silent couple. “Let me get this straight, you ran away to get married, even though you’re only seventeen, and you need permission. And now you need new friends.” 

 

Harry turned around with a raised eyebrow and nodded. “That’s about it.”

 

“What happened to your old friends?” Ron squinted.

 

“We stole their car.” Kitty said casually.

 

“Shit, okay. You’ve earned my friendship.” Ron grinned. He had a soft spot for good criminals.

 

“Awesome,” Kitty shrieked. “You like us because we stole a car. So what are you doing in ‘Virginia, I guess’?” She imitated his suspiciously deep voice.

 

“No idea.” Ron shrugged.

 

“Why are you going there?”

 

“Ran away.” 

 

“Why?

 

“Don’t want to talk about it.” He replied shortly.

 

“Why?”

 

“My god, you people ask a lot of questions.” Ron huffed incredulously, slapping his book down into his lap.

 

“Whatcha reading there, Ronnie?” Harry asked.

 

“Oh my god, get me off this bus. I’m revoking our friendship.” Ron smiled.

 

“Nope, you're stuck with us. Now tell us your story.” Kitty giggled.

 

“Well, to cut a long story short, my father is a douchebag and he doesn't treat my mother well, and I’ve had enough of living with him.”

 

“Ah.” Harry said awkwardly. Kitty unbuckled her seatbelt and moved to sit next to Ron, throwing an arm over his shoulder, which he frowned at.

 

“Poor Ron.” She said, but she didn't say it in a pitying way, which Ron liked. Kitty gasped. “Oh my god, come with us!”

 

Ron was silent for a long time, looking between the couple. “Where are you going?”

 

“We’re going to join the cadets… somewhere,” Harry smiled proudly.

 

Ron tilted his head considerately. He’d convinced his father to let him join the cadets back in Boston at fourteen because he’d always wanted to join the army, and it seemed like it was the perfect gateway. “Okay.” He agreed.

 

Kitty squeaked and hugged him for a long time. He patted her head, not knowing what to do with the girl. “Kit, you're freaking me out just a little, not gonna lie.”

 

“You called me Kit!” She hugged him tighter. “Harry, he called me Kit! We’re all friends now!”

 

“Is she high?” Ron asked Harry with wide eyes. He snorted.

 

“She get’s like this when she’s excited. We haven't really to people in a while. I think she’s socially starved.”

 

“So what are you reading?” Harry asked, and Ron showed him the cover. It read ‘ _The Miseducation Of Cameron Post_ ’ “What’s it about?”

 

“A lesbian growing up in the 80’s and 90’s.” Kitty looked up with wide eyes.

 

“Please tell me you're gay.” She whispered. Ron gave an affirmative nod and she hugged him even tighter, which was starting to hurt. “I _love_ you.” She whispered again. Part of the reason Ron was so prepared to leave home was the fact that he was gay, and his father was a homophobe.

 

“You too, Kit.” He patted her head again. He hadn't known them for more thank ten minutes, but he really liked them. These were the first people he could feel like he could trust in a long time.

 

“What’s in the bag, Ron?” Harry asked.

 

“My life.” Ron replied casually. Harry hummed considerately. “What?”

 

“You don't strike me as the happy-go-lucky type. I expected you to have a plan of where you want to go.”

 

“I’m making it up as I go, Harry,” Ron smiled softly. “I’ve had enough of plans.”

 

“Kitty and I, we grew up together. Our parents never planned anything for us, we just kind of wandered about. So we suck at planning.” Harry mused, leaning over the back of the chair with a lovesick smile.

 

“Okay, I’ll plan something.” Ron looked out the window, still playing with Kitty’s vibrant red curls. “Let’s go to… Florida. I hear it’s real nice in summer.”

 

“It’s spring.” Kitty pointed out. “And I heard it’s fucking hot in summer.”

 

“It won’t be for long. The days are getting longer.” Harry countered.

 

“Great,” Ron said with a sense of finality. “Florida it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, in a dark alleyway, rubbing my hands together as I approach you, a dark figure in a trenchcoat: Hey man,,,, got any feedback? I'm dying for some feedback...


	3. Devils In Georgia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gang™ in Georgia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dont forget your daily dose of awful fanfic :>

When they finally got off the coach, they were sticky, hot, and didn't smell great. But they were all happy, and Ron hadn't thought about his parents much for almost a day. They ran around Virginia, taking in the sights and taking photos.

“This is going on my Insta for sure.” Kitty grinned, taking a photo of Ron giving Harry a piggy back ride.

They stopped at McDonalds for a disgusting late lunch, which consisted of Kitty cracking jokes and Ron and Harry snorting their soft drinks. They wandered around Richmond until they found an abandoned building to sleep in. It only took the matter of climbing in through a window on the second story.

They sat in a circle, talking for a long time about their lives. Something about them just clicked, and Ron felt like he’s known the couple all his life. He talked about his mother and how he felt bad for leaving her, his lonely childhood, his kleptomania, the rumours that followed him through high school.

Kitty rested her head against his shoulder and played with his hands. “I can see why you're so closed off.”

“Yeah…” Ron trailed off, not knowing what to say. What he loved about Kitty and Harry was the fact they weren't scared of him, and didn't make him feel alienated.

“Did you have a boyfriend back in Boston?” Harry asked, snacking on one of Ron’s muesli bars.

“No, I’ve been isolated my whole life I guess. Everyone was scared of me back there. You punch a guy once…”

“Oh yeah? How’d your parents deal with that?” Kitty asked, obviously amused.

“I told them I was defending a friend. My father was so angry, he got into a massive fight with my mom.”

“I’m sorry,” She whispered. Ron looked down at her and smiled. “Tell me, why is shoplifting a good outlet?”

“It’s fun,” Ron sighed. “And it’s not just shoplifting, pickpocketing too. I like shiny things.”

“You going to steal from us?” Harry joked.

“Got anything shiny?” Ron grinned. Kitty help up her hand, admiring the engagement ring on her finger. She sighed with a content grin.

“Let’s go to sleep.” She suggested. They did exactly that, resting their heads on their bags and drifting off into a safe sleep. And though it was a safe place, it still didn't stop Ron punching Harry suddenly when the other man woke suddenly the next morning. Harry forgave him and they walked to the train station like nothing had happened.

“You have how much money?” Harry asked, wide eyed. They were at the train station, because the decided they’d had enough of coaches.

“Two grand in cash, or there about. I haven't counted it. Why? How much do you have?” He also had a secret bank card that he got paid on for his job in Boston, but he was hesitant to use it, because his father would probably be tracking it. Even though Ron never told him about it.

“Between us? About four hundred dollars.” Kitty replied casually. Like it wasn't a big deal they had such a small amount of money to get them where they needed to go.

“I’m buying lunch from now on.” Ron told them, slapping money on the counter for a three train tickets to Georgia, where they would have to get another ticket from. He handed them to Kitty and Harry, who thanked him, and they set off to find the right platform.

“We should get jobs in Florida.” Kitty mused. “Harry can work on cars, I’ll wait tables at a fifties style diner, Ron can shoplift and pawn off things. Hey do you think they have pawn shops in Florida?”

“Probably,” Ron smiled, letting Kitty hold his hand as they walked through the train station.

“We stink,” Harry stated, out of the blue. “I demand we have a shower when we get to Florida.”

“Fine by me,” Ron agreed as they stepped into the train carriage. They found a four seater and sat down.

“Thank god we got a nice train.” Kitty sighed, curling up against Harry. “Hey, Ron, give me your phone number.” Ron shrugged and pulled out his phone, opening contacts to read it out. He handed his phone over when he was done and Kitty put in her number.

“If you lose us, call me,” She told him sincerely. He only nodded and opened his book.

~*~

Georgia was already hot when they arrived a long while later. As promised, Ron found them a motel room, paid in cash and with a fake name, and they all showered and rested on beds that seemed so foreign. It had only been five days since Ron ran away, and yet he had forgotten the comfort of a bed. But he wasn't sure that really mattered.

“God,” Kitty groaned, lying back on her and Harry’s bed. “It is fucking hot and we’re not even in Florida yet!”

“Did you bring anything to swim in, Ron?” Harry asked him, eyeing his getaway bag.

“Yeah…” Ron replied hesitantly, looking up from his book.

“Shit, well look who packed for a holiday!”

“We brought swimmers, Harry,” Kitty reminded, rolling onto her front.

“Yeah, Kitty, but we actually did pack for a holiday,”

“Get to the point, Harry.” Ron rolled his eyes.

“Lets go for a swim!” Harry grinned his annoyingly large gap-toothed smile and sank down next to Ron’s bed.

“Fiiiine,” Ron groaned, gently throwing his book at Harry.

Ron found them a luxurious hotel with an amazing public pool to swim in, which only took the matter of climbing a fence. He looked it up on google maps and figured it out. It impressed the shit out of Kitty, and earned a suspicious look from Harry.

Ronald Speirs had many unusual talents for someone of his age. He was great at hacking, shoplifting, breaking and entering, and sneaking through places unseen. Some people wouldn't understand why he felt the need to rebel so much. But he needed an outlet when all he did was listen to orders and jump through hoops to get things done. He was grateful Kitty understood.

“Take your clothes off, Ron!” Kitty yelled as he pulled off his shirt. “Ooft, only you could make brown swimming trunks sexy.”

“Hey! What about me?” Harry shouted indignantly. Kitty pushed him into the pool. And then Ron afterwards.

“Shut the fuck up, Harry, yours are blue. And, dayum,” Ron replied, turning around and giving his friend a once over.

“Right?” Harry grinned, spinning so Ron could get the full view.

 

“Why Florida?” Kitty asked, smiling as she laid back on her pool bed. They had stolen some pool toys and laid back in the water, contentedly letting the sun cover their bodies.

“Never got to go as a kid,” Ron replied, not opening his eyes.

“Cool story,” Harry interjected. “Why did I get the noodle and you get the inflatables?”

Ron gave a snort and poked Harry with his toe. “Because your girlfriend likes me more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh mate,,, got any feedback on ya?


	4. Leap Of Faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried. The next chapter is fun though :)

Two days into their stop in Georgia, they decided Florida seemed kind of boring. They never decided on a place, so Ron decided to throw caution to the wind, and let fate decide where they would go. They went shopping for supplies, and then they waited by the tracks for a train to wherever.

“We’re getting this one,” Ron grinned evilly as they stood by the train tracks, watching a freight train just come into sight.

“No!” Harry yelled, suddenly turning and stepping back from the tracks. “I’m not doing that! Call me when you get to wherever you're going.”

“Come on, Harry, don’t chicken out now! This is like, my dream!” Kitty grabbed his hand and begged. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”

“You have a minute to decide if you're coming with, because I’m going.” Ron told them. Kitty gave Harry a final pleading look. He rolled his eyes.

“Fine.” He agreed.

“Make sure everything is secure,” He checked his pockets, making sure nothing will fall out, and made sure his bag was fixed to him properly. Kitty and Harry did the same. Ron looked down the tracks where the train was approaching. “RUN!” They all took off down the tracks.

The freight approached rapidly, and before they knew it, they were all clambering into an empty freight car. Harry was still at the door, Kitty pulling him in as the wind whipped at her face. Ron crawled over and helped.

“You guys are crazy!” Harry laughed, dragging himself to the other side of the carriage where the wind wouldn't be able to touch them. Ron and Kitty followed. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Ron shuffled to the door and lit his first cigarette in days, blowing the smoke into the wind. Kitty and Harry crawled over, stealing his smokes and lighter, letting the adrenaline wear off. Kitty’s legs shook, Harry felt sick, and Ron’s lungs burnt.

“Wasn’t that fun though?” Kitty laughed, and she laughed so hard she was in hysterics. Ron began laughing, and so did Harry. They were all leaning against each other, laughing and smoking when Kitty spoke up again.”What the fuck did we just do!?”

 

“Alright, what did we all buy?” Kitty asked later that evening, sitting by the door. She was currently tying her red hair up into two curly buns on the top of her head. When she was done, she moved back over the end of the freight car that wasn't windy and sat between Harry and Ron.

Before, they had all split up when they were shopping for ‘essentials’. They used Ron’s card since they figured they were going to leave as soon as humanly possible to god-knows-where, and Ron took out another five hundred dollars out just in case. They were all supposed to get a ton of food and whatever else they thought they needed. Their bags were all full by the time they finished.

They had taken everything from their bags, laying it out on the wooden floor of the freight car. They had a shitload of food and drinks, some toiletries (including Harry’s thoughtful purchase of a She-Wee for Kitty, who laughed at it for five minutes straight) and some practical items bought by Ron. 

He bought batteries, a power pack for his phone, a flashlight, a spare backpack, more underwear (including some for Kitty, who laughed for another good minute, because ‘Oh my god, Ron bought women’s underwear!’), toilet paper, a deck of cards, medical supplies and other assorted things he thought they may need.

Harry mostly bought things like chips and skittles. Ron glared at him.

“Hey! These doors close!” Kitty had moved to stand by the side and grabbed at the handle of the massive sliding door of the freight car, haling it shut, and then the other. She did the same with the doors on the other side “No more fucking wind!”

“Yay,” Ron cheered in a magnificently sarcastic monotone. “And now I cant see shit.”

“That’s why you bought a flashlight,” Harry grinned.

“Asshole,” Ron mumbled, flicking on the torch and shining it at Harry’s face.

They played a game of cards and had a quick dinner of protein bars and apple juice before going to sleep that night.

~*~

Ronald Speirs woke up to a whole lot of yelling that next morning.

He cracked open an eye and looked at Kitty, who was kneeling by the open doors of the carriage, yelling and pointing. Harry was looking out the door also, shouting at something outside the door. Something-outside-the-door was making a whole lot of noise to another something-outside-the-door, who, in return, made a lot of noise.

Ron began shouting too, just because he didn't want to be left out. 

“What the fuck?” He crawled over to the door. Up the tracks were two guys running for the approaching car, one tall with orange hair, and the other slightly shorter with black hair. They leapt for the car Ron, Kitty and Harry were in, both accepting help into the car.

“Holy shit!” The one with black hair rolled onto his back and laughed. The other dragged himself into the car and laid down next his friend, wheezing. He looked up and thanked them.

Kitty and Harry grinned, all too happy to have new friends/potential murderers. Ron glared at them. Kitty gave them a bottle of water and sat back on her heels, eyes wide with excitement and anticipation.

“What’s up?” She asked as they passed the bottle between them.

“We just ran away!” The dark haired man laughed.

“Join the club,” Ron huffed, folding his arms over his chest, earning him a frown from literally everyone.

“I’m sorry, he’s drunk,” The orange haired man replied, gesturing to his friend. Ron looked down at his watch. This guy is drunk at eight in the morning, “I’m Dick, this is Lewis, call him Nix though.”

“We’re Kitty, Harry and Ron. Don’t mind Ron, he's a bit of an asshole- but he's cool. Do you need anything? Food? Water?” Kitty helped them over to the other side of the car. The man took the offered muesli bar.

“So, we all just ran away recently…” Kitty mumbled, but looked up excitedly. “Tell us your story!”

As it turned out, Nix ran away from his father in Florida (the exact place Ron, Harry, and Kitty weren't going) and took Dick (his childhood friend who was on holiday with Nix’s family) with him. He ran away because he was sick of the expectations of his father (because, “Fuck you I’m almost eighteen, in my prime, I don’t want to be CEO of a fucking company). The more Nix and Dick explained, the more Ron was starting to hate them less.

In turn, Kitty and Harry told their story, including most of what they knew about Ron’s story and by the end, they were all the best of friends. Except Ron, because Ron was a bit of an asshole- but he was cool. He sat to the side and took some of Nix’s alcohol.

“Do you wan’t to come with us? We made friends with this bundle of joy the other day and now we’re all the best of friends!” Kitty had asked as Ron glared at the Nix who was sleeping on his shoulder. Ron gave a sarcastic smile to his friends and flipped them off, who returned the favour.

“That sounds fine,” Dick smiled sincerely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, I am but a humble fic writer begging for your comments.


	5. Another Merry Wanderer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More people :/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aight this is my favourite chapter by far

“Holy shit, we’re in New Orleans!” Nix told Ron as they played a game of blackjack in the back of the freight car. He was now mostly sober from a good five hour sleep on Ron’s shoulder ( _and the floor when Ron got sick of having a drunk lean on him_ ).

 

Ron gave Nix a steady glare before leaning over the to look out the train door to see the scenery. At that moment, the train jolted and Ron fell directly on top of Nix, who fell back. He looked down and saw he was straddling Nix, and neither made any effort to move. Nix was drunk and probably enjoying it, judging by the smile on his face, and Ron was too shocked to move.

 

He looked up and realised everyone was looking at them, and slowly backed off Nix and sat back down in front of his cards. He picked them up and stared at them like nothing totally weird and mildly embarrassing (That would be if Ron had any sense of embarrassment) just happened.

 

Kitty burst out laughing and crawled over to Ron. She put an arm around him and laughed until she snorted, and abruptly stopped, slapping a hand over her mouth. “That has got to be the funniest things I’ve seen in years!”

 

Dick sat in the corner of the train with a small smile playing on his lips. Nix was now looking totally shocked as he became aware of what just happened, staring at his friend. He was absolutely mortified. He risked a glance to Ron, who was glaring at him with the force of hell behind his eyes. Nix shuffled back.

 

“God,” He sighed, putting a hand on his heart. “You’re fucking terrifying.” Ron only nodded. “Dick, are you sure we can trust these guys?”

 

Before the guy had time to answer, Harry spoke up from beside Dick. “Believe me, we’ve been travelling with him for days. If he wanted us dead, we’d definitely be dead by now.”

 

“So the answer to my question is no.” Nix mumbled, shuffling back a little more from Ron, who still looked like he wanted to murder him.

 

~*~

 

The new gang all sat with their legs over the side of the train, staring out at the fast moving scenery of the south coast. A few hours had passed since the Ron and Nix’s incident, and it didn't look like they would have a chance of living it down anytime soon.

 

“Do you think we should get off soon?” Harry yelled through the wind.

 

“I don’t know,” Ron shouted back. “If we keep going along the coast we’re going to be in Texas.”

 

“I sure as shit don't want to go to Texas!” Nix told them through a mouth of muesli bar.

 

“We’re in Louisiana now,” Dick looked up from his phone, where he was tracking their location on GPS.

 

“Well that’s no better,” Kitty laughed. “Let’s stay on for a while, see if we end up in California.”

 

“Okay,” Nix agreed.

 

“What’s wrong with Texas?” Harry asked, obviously missing half the point of the conversation. Ron patted his arm and sighed.

 

The train began coming to a halt as the conversation died down.

 

“Oh shit,” Ron whispered.

 

“Oh shit? What’s ‘oh shit’?” Harry’s voice rose an octave in panic.

 

“We need to get off now, they check the trains when they stop.”

 

“Oh shit indeed.” Nix stood and grabbed his backpack, throwing it over a shoulder. “Shall we scadattle?”

 

And with that, the gang scrambled to pack their things and leave the train.

 

On their way out, they looked down the tracks and saw a train guard leaning inside a carriage. He turned and saw them, shouting something that was cut off with a strangled yelp. The man fell forward, unconscious. There was a smallish figure behind him, who stepped over the guy and made his way towards them.

 

He was scrawny and short, with furiously orange hair and a baby face. “Hey,” His voice was squeaky and thick with a Philadelphian accent.

 

“Thanks, man! That was awesome!” Harry grinned, looking around the kid to stare at the unconscious train guard.

 

“Yeah, respect,” Ron mumbled, doing the same.

 

“No problem, I’m Babe Heffron. You were on this train?” He asked them, holding his back by his side. Kitty nodded, a soft smile on her face.

 

“Yeah, since Georgia.” She replied.

 

“Yeah? Since Maine,” He smiled back. Ron was confused.

 

“Aren’t you from Philadelphia? It’s just your accent-“ He was cut off by the fast talking kid.

 

“Oh yeah, no I ran away last year with my friend- ‘ey, Bill! Get ya fat ass out here, there’s cool people!-” He turned and shouted in the general direction of the train car he came from. “-after my parents died, so we’ve just been travelin’ round America together.”

 

“My god, theres so many runaways,” Nix sighed, tugging at the sleeve of Dick’s t-shirt. Babe looked up in confusion.

 

“Oh, right,” Kitty cut in, talking almost as fast as Babe. “So, like, a week ago, me and Harry, this guy here, got on a coach, because we ran away to get married, right? But we’re seventeen, so we cant because we didn't think it through, right?” The kid nodded his head quickly. 

 

“So we got on a coach, and here was Ron, this guy here, he's sixteen and gay and he likes to steal stuff. He was pissy and moody, but we needed friends because we pissed off our other friends because we stole their car, right? So we hung out and we made friends with him and decided to travel together. So later we found ourselves in Georgia, so we hung out there for a few days, and we were going to go to Florida, but then we decided that was boring.”

 

Kitty stopped and took a deep breath, before continuing. “So Ron, the genius, figures we should wait by the train tracks and jump on the next freight train that comes our way, so we do that. The next day- this morning- I wake up and I’m sitting by the door with Harry when I see these two guys, Nix and Dick, making a run for the train. I yell at them and tell them we’ll give them a hand up, so we help them in. God knows how we did that, Nix was drunk as shit and had just run away. Anyway, they got in and now we’re all the best of friends. The end.”

 

“Holy shit, are you going to pass out?” Ron asked, putting a hand on Kitty’s arm and checking if she was okay.

 

“That is the coolest story I’ve ever heard. I’ll grab Bill and we can get the hell out of dodge before someone comes looking for that dude I just punched. Haha.” Babe grinned excitedly, turning and walking back to the carriage he came from. The group followed him as he walked along happily. “Oh right, I’m fifteen and gay, and Bill is sixteen, and pretends not to be gay.”

 

They were all a little bit surprised at the fact the kid ran away at fourteen, but figured they were all pretty young too.

 

Ron looked up at the side of the freight car they were currently passing. Emblazoned across the side in fading pain was the logo ‘South Coast American Traders’. “Guess we would have made it to California after all, Kit.” He told her quietly.

 

“No chance to get back on now, we just knocked out a train guard.” She giggled. As they stepped over the body, Ron bent down to grab the guys wallet and steal his cash. The others, save for Kitty, stared at him in disbelief.

 

“Kitty just said I like stealing stuff!” He exclaimed incredulously, like it was justification. Kitty bent down and searched the guys pockets, joining in on the fun.

 

“Bill! Wake up, ya pinhead.” Babe jumped up into the train and kicked his sleeping friend. The man shifted.

 

“Whaddaya want?” He groaned, pushing Babe’s foot away.

 

“Come meet our five new friends, they're all runaways. Also we need to go right now because I knocked out a train guard and I think he’s wakin’ up.” He jumped back out of the train and waited for Bill to move.

 

“WHAT THA FUCK, BABE? I’M UP.” Bill scrambled and fell out of the train. Babe screamed and jumped back in an attempt to dodge his friend, but managed to get directly under him. They fell to the floor with a thump, which set off Harry laughing.

 

“Hey!” A voice shouted, it was another train guard coming towards them. The train guard looked down and saw his coworker lying on the ground.

 

Everyone froze and looked up. Ron was standing above the guy with his wallet and money, Kitty had her hands his pockets, Nix was watching in interest, Dick was facing away so as to not witness yet _another_ crime, Bill was lying on top of Babe, who was still screaming, and Harry was laughing his ass off. 

 

“This isn't as bad as it looks?” Kitty said tentatively.

 

They all looked between themselves and the second train guard, realising their situation was exactly as bad was it looked.

 

“We should run now,” Ron pointed out, shouldering his duffle bag.

 

And with that, the group of runaways did exactly that. They ran the fuck away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there is one chapter you comment on please let it be this one. That being said comments and kudos always appreciated <3

**Author's Note:**

> Me, sliding you $10: some comments and kudos sure would be nice


End file.
